Attorneys Representing Dog Attack Victims Across Texas

This website is maintained by the Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a Dallas, Texas law firm representing people across Texas for dog bite injury cases. We have attempted to provide useful information for those harmed by animal attacks.

Posts Tagged ‘Australian Cattle Dog’

Wednesday, May 10th, 2017

On April 27, 2017, 32-year-old Lisa Green of Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, was savagely attacked by her family’s pit bull-boxer mix. She was on the rear deck of her home when neighbors heard commotion and witnessed the dog biting her neck in a gruesome scene. One neighbor tried to stop the attack by throwing the dog a hambone. But witnesses said the dog was completely engrossed in attacking Green and didn’t slow down. Then a neighbor tried jabbing the dog with a narrow board. The dog bit the board and broke it. The scene was further described in horrific terms. Then a neighbor, who is also a law enforcement officer, got his .380 caliber handgun and shot the dog. It was only then that the attack stopped. Green was transported to a nearby hospital and later pronounced dead at 2:46 pm.

The pit bull was 3 ½ years old, and Green had been the dog’s owner for 2 ½ years. According to an unidentified source, this wasn’t the first act of violence connected with the dog. A man told reporters the dog bit his grandson in the face a few years ago.

No one knows the circumstances which led to the fatal pit bull attack, but this is not an unusual type of event for pit bulls. The breed is more deadly than all other dog breeds combined, by a wide margin. In 2016, 22 people in the U.S. were killed by a pit bull, and many of the victims were the owners. Children and the elderly are most vulnerable to fatal pit bull attacks, but people of every age group are killed each year.

It seems that no matter how much evidence from actual fatalities and injuries caused by pit bulls mounts up, legislators aren’t keeping up by pushing legislation to ban pit bulls. What type of tragedy might it finally take to instigate helpful protective laws?

Monday, December 28th, 2015

On Thursday, while visiting with a family near Blanco Road and West Oak Drive in North Bexar County, a 2-year-old girl was bitten on the neck by the family’s dog. The child was transported to a nearby hospital, where she received stitches. Police said the toddler is expected to recover and the dog is in quarantine, as a safety precaution.

A study of dog attack maimings and deaths in the United States and Canada between September of 1982 through December 31, 2014, revealed the following and more.

The combination of the following breeds, which embody about 9% of the total dog population, were responsible for the statistics below: Pit bulls, Rottweilers, cane corsos, mastiffs, presa canaries, dogo argentines, boxers, sharpeis, fila brasieros, and their mixes inflicted:

86% of all dog attacks that resulted in bodily harm.

81% of dog attacks against children.

89% of dog attacks to adults.

76% of fatal dog attacks.

86% of the attacks resulting in maiming.

Pit bulls and pit bull mixes inflict the clear majority of attacks that result in serious injury or death. During the study period, pit bulls caused 295 deaths and 2,110 maimings. The dogs inflicting the second most harm were Rottweilers, and the breed was found responsible for 85 deaths and 296 maimings in the same time period.

The key difference between pit bulls and Rottweilers and other breeds is that when the dogs have a “bad moment,” the result is a serious attack that either maims or kills, as opposed to a basic puncture wound for a bite.

Learn more about the very real threat of dog attacks in Part 1 of this two-part series.

Wednesday, July 1st, 2015

The following are helpful tips on how to spot signs of dogfighting, provided by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS):

Dogfighting pits are often verified as the site of dogfights because of scratch lines on the plywood that measures between 2 and 3 feet high and encompasses about 14 to 20 square feet. Blood stains in the pits are another telltale sign. Sometimes pits are made with chain-link fencing or some type of makeshift materials, such as hay barrels. A diagonal scratch line is drawn in opposite corners of the pit. The dogs stay behind those lines until the referee of the dogfight orders them to be released.

There are many legitimate uses for veterinarian supplies and drugs for dogs, but these things are frequently found in connection with illegal dogfighting rings. A few of the drugs commonly used on dogs involved with dogfighting are:

Steroids: Winstrol-V, and dexamethasone.

Antibiotics: Ampicillin and amoxicillin.

Iron Supplement: Canine Red Dog

A cat mill or jenny mill is a device used for dogfighting, and it resembles a miniature horse walker. The dog is harnessed to a spoke projected from a rotating center shaft, and the dog chases a bait animal, such as a cat or rabbit that has been caged or tied to a spoke just ahead of the dog. This cruel activity encourages the prey drive and physically conditions the dog.

Learn more about dogfighting in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this continuing series. Next will be more signs to look for, so that you can report dogfighting.